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The Madrian Literature Circle: A Child's Outline of World History

INTRODUCTION FOR GROWN-UPS

The following pages give a very broad outline of the course of the world's history from the beginning of the present world-cycle until the present time (and a little beyond). It may be read by children or to them, though its primary purpose is not either of these. The Outline is not primarily regarded as an end in itself, but rather as a basis for teaching and discussion.

Ideally, each paper should be used as the foundation of a lesson around which discussion may be centred and project work organised. The project work can include pictures, compositions, maps, models etc.

This individualised approach is particularly important since it allows the teaching to be adjusted to the age and ability of the children concerned. For example, to older children more detail may be gone into about the nature of the first people's coming from heaven to earth – how we mean not "people" travelling in space, but souls becoming incarnate in a material environment; and how the first ideal and archetypal creation was translated onto successively grosser and more consolidated levels of being until finally it reached the stage of physical matter. There are various levels on which these facts can be taught, ranging from the simplest forms of presentation (to which we have largely restricted ourselves in these papers) to the abstractions of philosophical metaphysics. Which level takes predominance in any given case will depend upon the child in question.

Madrian education has always proceeded orally, without the use of textbooks, and these papers represent a step towards putting some of it in a form which can be used by those who have not grown up within a traditional Madrian community. What will be missed are the traditional stories and narratives, usually told by the fireside, which give so much warmth and vitality to the historical accounts. To some extent the place of these will be taken by the accounts of the lives of children living in the different periods of history which are to provide a companion-piece to the present work. Some of the traditional stories will also be written down, but nothing can replace the traditional telling in the fireside setting by an experienced story-teller. As new open Madrian communities are founded, it is to be hoped that every Madrian child will be able to have this experience at least occasionally.

If any particularly interesting or difficult questions are asked, we would be grateful to hear of them. The answers to these questions may be compiled as a supplement to the Outline.

[Illustration titled The Golden Age, depicting many small figures standing in a treed field beneath the sun and clouds. A robed figure on a cloud emits beams of light from her hands on the earth below. The caption reads: "Some of the first children strayed from Heaven... ...But INANNA made the earth for them"]

Where did people come from?

When God first made people, She did not put them on this earth, but kept them with Her in Heaven. It was so beautiful in Heaven, that I can hardly begin to describe it. But afer a time, some of Her children disobeyed Her, and wandered away from Heaven.

Now Heaven is a place for perfectly good people, and because these children were disobedient, they could not find their way back. But God sent Her Daughter, Inanna, to help them, and Inanna created a new place for them to live, and this new place was called the earth.

When She first created it, the world was so fresh and bright and beautiful that if you could see it, you would say that Heaven could not be any more wonderful than that (but if you had seen Heaven, you would know that it could!).

When people first came to earth, it was called the Golden Age. People were not stuck in their physical bodies the way we are, they could just "step" out of them. They could travel to another place just by thinking about it. They could understand the language of birds and animals, and build a Temple in the air without wood or stones or any other physical material.

[An illustration depicts figures standing among animals and flowers in a treed field beneath sun and clouds. The caption reads: "They could understand the language of birds and animals."]

[A second illustration, titled The Silver Age, shows two impressive buildings, with a caption reading, "Great temples and palaces were built."]

At the beginning of the GOLDEN AGE, people did not need to build houses at all, because they did not feel the cold, and for them, it was always like the warmest days of summer.

It was not until the SILVER AGE that any houses were built, and then, at first, they were only little round wooden huts. The GOLDEN AGE lasted for many thousands of years – almost as long as all the other ages put together. People lived for a very long time then, and it was not unusual for a person to be several hundred years old. As time went on, lives became shorter. In the late SILVER AGE, people only lived 150 to 200 years. Today they usually live only 70 or 80.

Toward the second half of the SILVER AGE, great temples and palaces were built in many places. These were very grand and beautiful, and full of wonderful works of art, but they showed that people had moved further away from God and were trying to make themselves at home on the earth instead of seeking the way back to their real home in Heaven. But they had not forgotten God, and all their works of art, their magnificent cities and palaces, their beautiful clothes and music, just as much as their Temples, were all made in Her honour.

Great princesses ruled over the cities, and everyone was happy under their reign, because like true princesses, they did not rule according to their own likes and dislikes, but ruled in obedience to God and Her laws. These laws are so perfect that when maids live by them, they are always perfectly happy.

[An illustration, entitled The Golden Chain of the Law, shows a series of linked figures, starting at the far left with "Our Lady", followed by "The Princess", "Heads of Households", "mothers", and lastly "husbands & children".]

[A second illustration, entitled The Bronze Age, I, shows a large seated figure in a crown raising a goblet over three smaller figures carrying various containers. The caption reads, "Princesses grew greedy & selfish." To the right of this, another image shows a broken down wall surrounded by loose bricks, with a caption reading "A brick wall without any cement."]

At the beginning of the BRONZE AGE, the great cities became larger and more magnificent, but now the great danger of these earthly glories was beginning to become a reality. People were starting to forget God, and lose themselves in worldly things. The great princesses forgot that they were God's servants and behaved as if they were only given their riches and power for their own enjoyment.

The people did not see why the princesses should have wealth and power instead of themselves. And of course, if the princess is not God's servant, there is no reason. But when they put up maids from among themselves to be their rulers, it was even worse, because these rulers did not obey the divine Law either, but only slipped farther from it.

The worse things became, the more people tried to find comfort in worldly things, but the more they did that, the worse still things became. Those days were very much like the present time in the profane world. In the end, the whole of that civilisation collapsed, because a society without God is just like a brick wall without cement. The golden chain of Her law holds society together, and when that chain is broken, it will soon fall to pieces.

Through greed and quarrelling, and by upsetting the balance of nature with materialistic inventions (just as people are doing today), the great cities of the early bronze age fell into decay. People went off into the hills or the countryside and left the magnificent buildings to crumble away.

[An illustration shows the ruins of great buildings being rained upon, while a caption reads "...left the magnificent building to crumble away."]

[An illustration, entitled The Bronze Age, II depicts three angelic figures over the words "The sacred arts & crafts were brought from Heaven to earth..." On the right, a figure is shown holding something aloft at the mouth of a cave, while another sits by a fire; two smaller figures a little ways off appear to be carrying bows and are accompanied by a four-footed animal. The caption reads, "...maids guarded them in cave-days – men were sent out to hunt. They were REMEMBERED, not INVENTED."

After the fall of the great cities, many people wandered the countryside, or lived in caves. Many profane people believe that these were the first people in the world. They call them cave-men and believe that they had just learned the simplest things, like making fire. Actually, of course, they only REMEMBERED these things, while they had FORGOTTEN most of the other things which they used to know.

Profane people believe that these "cave-people" had developed from monkets only a little time ago, and the the whole human race is only about two million years old, and could not make simple things by hand until about twenty-five thousand years ago, but they have found the imprints of well-made rope sandals in places where they must be at least fifteen million years old. But they just ignore things like that, and pretend they do not exist.

The cave-people are called "cave-men" by profane people because they pretend that men were in charge in those days, just as they are in the profane world today. Actually, the profane people who know most about it know that this is not true,* but most profane people pretend that it is. Actually maids were in charge of the cave-societies, were leaders in the communities and heads in the households, just as they had always been. It was not until much later and much darker times that men took over.

The cave people were not stupid, as is sometimes said. Although they had forgotten many practical things, they still had a deeper spiritual knowledge than the profane world today, and their arts and crafts were rich in spiritual meaning. Profane people often talk of these arts and crafts being "invented" by the cave-people, but, of course, no true craft has ever been invented on this earth, for maid brought all the true sacred crafts with her when she came from Heaven. So when people say "invented", they should really say REMEMBERED.

[An illustration, entitled WRONG IDEAS profane people say that... shows an ape swinging from a tree next to a maid in a robe. This is x-ed out over the caption "maid is descended from monkeys" and labeled "x wrong". To the right, a similarly x-ed out image shows a man in an animal skin with a large club dragging a maid in a robe by the hair beneath the caption "...fierce cave-men ruled over maids." This is also labeled "x wrong" and "0/10".]

[Another illustration, entitled The Bronze Age III, shows the edge of a map. A protrusion of land dotted with trees and a large structure is labeled "LANTIS", with the edge of another letter to the left. Off the shore of the land four ships are shown in the ocean, with the caption "Basilea's ships set sail." To the right of this scene, a clock with a single hand is shaded and labeled for the four ages. The hand points to the very end of the Bronze Age. A caption reads, "the world is slowly running down like a clock."]

So, the cave-maids had forgotten many things, and also rememebered many things. But not everybody had forgotten those things which had been forgotten. One the great continent of ATLANTIS, now sunken beneath the waters, lived a race of people who had not forgotten the old ways. Their ruler was called QUEEN BASILEA.

Queen Basilea decided that it was her duty to help the other peoples of the world, and so she made ready a great fleet of ships which sailed all over the world. And wherever the red-haired Atlanteans landed, they taught the forgotten ways to the people, and helped them to build up magnificent civilisations centred upon love and obedience to God, just like those of the Silver Age.

But they could not be quite like the Silver Age, for times change, and what is possible to our mothers is not possible to us. For the world is slowly running down, like a clock that has been wound up a long time ago. But the Bronze Age cities were very good places, ruled by good princesses who obeyed the Divine Law. The people were happy, and lived close to God. Beautiful clothes and buildings and pictures and music were made, all for the love of God.

Wherever they went, the Atlanteans left four objects behind them: a golden chalice, a silver moon-axe, a bronze yoke and an iron plough. These symbolized the four ESTATES into which people were divided in the bronze age. Priestesses and scholars, queens and nobles, craftsmaids, and farmers. There was also a fifth estate, which was above the other four. This was the estate of those who gave up the world, and gave their whole lives to God in contemplation, often they went away to live in lonely places and later returned to give teaching and spiritual help to others.

[An illustration shows a figure seated cross-legged in a robe. Above the figure a caption reads "The Contemplative Life," while below the figure is labeled "mystics". To the right, a caption spans four figures, reading "The Active Life". The first figure carries a chalice and is labeled "Priestesses & Scholars". The second wears a crown and carries a labrys, and is labeled "Princesses & nobles". A third appears to hammer the rim of a wheel, and is labeled "craftsmaids & artists". A fourth handles a scythe and is labeled "farmers".]

[An illustration, entitled The Iron Age, I depicts a yelling figure seated in a throne with arms upraised and two other figures prostrating before it. This image is captioned "cruel warrior kings". To the right, another image shows a bearded figure in a crown immersed in a cloud sprouting lightning, and is captioned "made-up male gods".]

Because the world is running down like a clock, the happy time which began in the early part of the Bronze Age could not last forever. It did last for thousands of years, but towards the end of the Bronze Age, things started to decline even more badly than at the end of the Silver Age. Cities got bigger and more greedy, and people became obsessed with money and possessions. At the beginning of the Iron Age, all sorts of false ideas were starting to creep into religion itself.

First, people imagined that God had not a Daughter, but a son, and later they decided that God Herself was a man! Because religion is the centre of life, these ideas quickly started to affect other areas of life. In the end, kings took the throne away from the princesses, and fathers became the heads of households instead of mothers. This arrangement is called PATRIARCHY.

The kings who took over were very cruel, they often burned towns and villages in their fight to take over power, and invented horrible ways of killing people who disagreed with them. All patriarchal governments, right up to the present [illegible, short and ends in 'y'] use horrible methods like these. Sometimes, in times of peace, they stop using them for a short while, but they quickly start again when it suits them.

As the iron age wore on, people believed less and less in religious truths, until, in the end, the patriarchs did not even believe in their own invented male god. Instead, they plunged themselves into worldly things even more deeply than tthe Silver or Bronze Age people had done at their worst. They invented all sorts of machines and deadly weapons, and found out many things about nature and the world, but all in order to satisfy their own greed. The world war made more and more ugly, scarred by roads and railways, and huge sprawling cities dedicated to making money.

[A chaotic illustration shows roads, railways, guns, grenades, advertisements, a television, an airplane dropping bombs, a tank, a skyscraper, and a factory belching smoke. The caption reads "the end of the age".]

[An illustration, entitled The Iron Age II, bears a middle caption reading "Confused States". On the left, a woman is shown on a throne with a crown, while a crowned man stands behind her. The caption reads, "Queens ruled, but kings were powerful." On the right, a crowned man sits enthroned while a crowned woman stands behind. The caption reads, "Kings ruled, but only by the queen's permission."]

At the end of the Iron Age, people even stood history on its head, and pretended that the Iron Age was BETTER than all the other times, and that because people in earlier ages did not spend all their time inventing new weapons and machines and ways of making money, they must have been stupider than people are now! This idea is called PROGRESS or EVOLUTION. It says "We started off as monkeys, and we have been getting better ever since. This modern patriarchal world is the best thing ever!"

This idea is a very new invention, because even in most of the patriarchal times, people knew that things were getting worse. All the wisest people in every age have taught the opposite of progress; but the clever thing about the progress story is that the people who tell it don't have to take any notion of the wisest people of the past, because they were only stupid people who had not invented bombs and factories. Whenever you see a profane book about the past, you will always find this silly idea in it somewhere.

We must not forget that from the beginning of the Iron Age to the present time, which is near to the end, was a very long time indeed. The whole of what the profane world calls history does not go back as far as the beginning of the Iron Age.

Patriarchy as we know it today did not come in until quite late. There were lots of in-between periods. Periods when queens ruled, but kings had a lot of power, when kings ruled, but only by the queen's permission and all sorts of other complicated situations.

In spiritual wisdom, the situation was equally confusing. Some bits of the truth were kept, others were lost, and different things happened in different places. For example, the western world lost that truth that we live many different lives, but the eastern world kept it.

[An illustration shows a diverse crowd of people in varying costumes collectively yelling "No!" while pointing at a man in a suit next to a sign that reads "Progress, Atheism, Materialism, Monkeys to Maids, Evolution, People Are Machines". The caption reads "The profane world boastfully ignores all the wisest people of the east (even the patriarchal ones)".]

[Transcript incomplete, ending on p. 9 of original]